The Boy with the Blue Gum
by AnnabethSaysHi
Summary: Annabeth's life is perfectly normal. Everything is always the same. Well, until the boy with the bright blue fum enters the peaceful school, and everything will never be the same again. Percabeth oneshot. Please excuse any mistakes - English is not my native language.


**New story! Yep! This is just a one-shot, so don't expect any updates. Have fun reading! BTW, this took me three weeks of nonstop typing. So if you'd give me a little praise, that'd be great to boost my self-esteem!**

* * *

"Who can tell me what is the square root of 2369?" Ms. Dodds asks, turning to me expectantly. My hand shoots up, and my face stretches into a big grin. "Yes, Annabeth?" Ms. Dodds says.

"The answer is approximately 48.6723740946. I haven't worked out the rest of the numbers yet." I say. Ms. Dodds nod at me approvingly, turning back towards the board and writing some other problems. The expressions on the students in the class range from bored (Drew and Katie) to jealousy (Reyna) to admiration (Piper and Hazel).

It is the same old Monday. The problems only tweaked slightly... the same old buzz of the air conditioning in the Double Advanced math classroom... everything is the same. After the hand on the clock hits 3:14, the bell would always ring because our clock is one minute slow - Ms. Dodds had promised us that the janitor would fix it, but he never did. We don't mind, though, because it's always the same thing, over and over again.

Like now. The same old annoying ringing that I hate but love at the same time because it signals school is over.

Then, I would gather my stuff, say goodbye to Ms. Dodds which nobody ever did, and run up to join Piper and Hazel for our walk home. We would chit chat about Piper's new makeup brands, new clothing, their crushes Jason and Frank, and blah blah blah.

But today, it'll not be the same. Nor will everyday after today. I just have a feeling deep in my gut.

"So, guys, I just bought a new makeup set from Nikki, and it's soooo glittery! I love it!" Piper squeals, obviously excited. Nikki is a shopkeeper. I am happy for her, honestly, but she says this stuff _every day_. So you can probably understand why I drone out the boring stuff she is exclaiming about and examine the halls for anything unusual. But there's nothing unusual. Travis and Conner Stoll laughing at some new prank they made... and Katie with her head stuck in a book, lost in some fabulous world away from reality.

But as we turn into a new hallway, I nearly crash into a guy. "Oops, sorry." He says. I look up to see a cute black-haired guy. The first thing I notice about him are his eyes, which is this really deep ocean blue eyes with a dash of green seaweed. The second thing I notice about him is the gum he is chewing. It is bright blue, which I hadn't even realized that it existed.

"Uh... Annabeth?" Piper's voice ruse me back from my thoughts. I shake my head to clear it, and I smile at the boy.

"It's okay. I'm Annabeth." I say, holding out my hand. He shakes it, and I can't help noticing that they are really warm. "I'm Percy." He introduces himself.

We talk, while Hazel and Piper occasionally add in their ideas. I learn that he just moved here from New York City, and his favorite color is blue (well, I already guessed. Especially because of that bright blue gum). He loves:

The ocean

Blue cookies (Man, this guy is weird!)

His mom Sally

New York

His hair

Okay, he didn't say he loves his hair, but well, _I_ did.

By the time we were done talking, I missed the bus. But I did not mind, since Percy lives near here and I can walk him to his house without being disturbed by Piper and Hazel.

"So, I told you about myself, now you have to tell me about _yourself_." Percy says, wiggling his eyebrows. I sigh, but I tell him anyway.

"I live with my dad and Helen, who's my mean ol' stepmother, and she has two kids, Bobby and Matthew. At least they're nice. I like school and architecture. I am from New York, but not the city. Although I'd really like to visit there!" I say enthusiastically.

"Architecture?" He says. "Suits someone smart as you." I nearly melted at that comment.

We chatted all the way to his house, and when we got there, he asks for my number. "Bye!" I say, waving as I make my way out of his doorway. He grins back, and shuts the door.

The rest of the evening, I am in heaven.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Helen asks. Normally she wouldn't bother with questions, but today I guess I am acting so strange that she has to say something.

"I'm fine!" I say, and get up from the dinner table.

I run up the stairs, humming a new Justin Bieber tune. I shut the door to my room and crash onto the bed, giggling hysterically. What the heck is wrong with me? Do I have a crush? Nah, unlikely. But still... Percy has really pretty eyes...

I daydream for a long time before I realize that I still have homework. Ms. Dodds will not be happy if I don't do it. So I pulled out my backpack, and sharpened a couple of pencils. But I find that I cannot concentrate. So I begin to doodle on the margins of my notebook. Hmm... I can draw a house for architectural practice...

But no. I feel as if my brain hates me today. All I managed to doodle are big bubbly letters that say:

 _Mrs. Annabeth Jackson_

"AUGHH!" I scream. I tore out the page and crumble it up, tossing it in the trash. Hopefully nobody will ever see it again!

Then I decided to go online, if I couldn't do my homework. At least I could research something about marine biology to impress - I mean to prepare for our next unit in Science!

* * *

The next morning I wake up wayyy before the alarm sounds. I sigh as I pull my phone out to disable my alarms. But then I saw that I had received a text from someone named _Big Boi Jackson_. With a emoji with sunglasses. (Facepalm)

I immediately open it up, my heart leaping. It was sent at 12:04 AM. So does that mean that he was staying up all night thinking about me? No. Stay calm Annabeth. It's just a text, and people send stuff all the time in the middle of the night... right?

I read it.

 ** _So, I just took the tests and I am put in double advanced maths, (surprisingly). Anyway, the principal Mr. Blofis told me to find someone named Rachel Dare to tutor me. Do u no who she is?_**

My heart seemed to stop. Rachel Dare? No way. Rachel is really, really pretty, and the best artist in the whole school. Her silky red hair is to die for, and her sparkly green eyes resemble Percy's in the way that makes them look like cousins. She will definitely fall for him, and vice versa.

Calm down! Annabeth! I tell myself. But I am very frantic, trying to hold in the tears long enough for me to tell him that I do _not_ know who she is. I try and pull myself together to look well enough for the teachers, before I realize that I did not do _any_ of my homework.

By the time I get to school, which is very late by the way, my hair is in my face, I am still in the clothes I slept in, and I have _really_ bad breath from not brushing my teeth. So much for waking up early. And all because of stupid Percy Jackson! _Annabeth, you cannot let him affect you like this_. I tell myself, trying to ignore the curious gazes of my classmates.

"Annabeth." Mr. Brunner, my homeroom teacher says. "Nice of you to join us." The whole class erupts in laughter. I flush red.

"Sorry, I had a bad... Tuesday morning." I say, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. That's when I realize Percy Jackson is sitting in the empty seat next to me. No! Way!

!#$&*)&!#)$&*#

(That was extreme cursing in my head.)

(Excuse me.)

"Hey Wise Girl." He whispers, leaning over. "Why were you late? You didn't seem like that type of girl ." What am I supposed to say? _Well, I am late because you sent me a text that is practically foreshadowing that you will be dating Rachel?_ Nope.

"Bad day." I say simply, turning away from him and reading what's on the board. "Pop quiz? Oh shoot." I say. But good thing I only said it in my head! I have a reputation to maintain.

Mr. Brunner's class is the hardest. It's because he is in charge of the Greek and Roman stuff. Luckily I like Greek, so I managed an A in this class along with my other classes.

The paper was handed to me by Katie and I immediately looked over it. It isn't like the usually simple ones Mr. Brunner usually gave. This is a really hard test on Greek Geography and language. Geography I am okay, but I did not study the language as hard as usual.

 _First question: What is the past tense of the word ισδφι in Roman?_

Oh no. I do not know this stuff. But the worst thing is, everybody else were scribbling down answers as fast as they can as if they knew everything! This is turning into my worst nightmare!

* * *

"Hey, are you alright?" A voice makes me look up. It's Percy.

"Don't you have to find Rachel or something?" I say, ignoring his question and purposely not meeting his eyes.

"No. I decided to have you as my tutor." He says, sitting down next to me. We are in the cafeteria, and Piper and Hazel are not here yet.

"Well, that's great." I say. It is, but now I realize I worried about nothing in the morning. And probably just failed Greek class! I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. Percy looks perplexed, but says no more.

Fine by me.

Hazel and Piper arrive a little later, each with a tray filled with the hot lunch food - spaghetti with orange tomato sauce, orange chicken, and oranges in orange cream cheese sauce. I raise an eyebrow at the food.

"Don't ask. Today is orange day." Piper sighs.

"It's not that bad." Hazel replies, taking a bite. Then she notices Percy. "Hello."

"Uh... Hi." He says, scratching the back of his neck. I find this gesture really cute.

Jason and Frank sits down at our table too, saying that they were late because they had detention. Percy glances around, eyes narrowing a little. "So... um, you guys also know Annabeth?"

"Yup. She lets me copy her homework." Jason snorts. Frank thumps him in the back, laughing as well. "She lets me copy it too!"

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed, narrowing my eyes. "When did I ever let you two copy my hard work?"

Jason and Frank immediately stop laughing. My fist raises threateningly and they immediately point to each other. "He suggested it!" They say at the same time. Piper and Hazel starts laughing as hard as they can.

"Don't hurt me!" Says Jason.

"I'm innocent!" Says Frank.

Piper and Hazel are snorting now, bits of orange stuff flying from their noses and sticking everywhere.

"Tell my dad I love her!" Jason cries dramatically.

"Tell Hazel to do the dishes for me at home!" Frank cries, equally as dramatic. Then he frowns. "Wait, 'tell my dad I love _her'_?"

I laugh. "Who is _her_? Piper?" Percy also laughs. Jason turns red.

"Annabeth!" Piper protests. She knows that I know that she has a crush on Jason.

"Yes?" I bat my eyes innocently.

"ARGHHHH!" She yells, and reaches around to grab me. I step forward, surprising her, and hook my foot around hers and trip her. But before she could tumble on the ground, I catch her, and then I let go.

"Luckily I do karate." I say. "And luckily I know how to save people." Jason, Frank, Percy, and Hazel claps. Piper rolls her eyes.

The rest of lunch is like that.

* * *

 **Two weeks later...**

Percy and I have bonded really well. I know him almost as well as Jason and Frank and my other friends. But that doesn't stop me from getting shivers when we get too close. _Is this what a crush feels like?_ I wonder as I head home.

"Hey Annabeth." Percy runs to catch up with me as I hurry home. I have club in 30 minutes. "I want to give you something." He hands me a small grey box.

I open it carefully, not really knowing what to expect. But not this! I am really surprised to see a _beautiful_ necklace. It is woven with fine silky threads of all different colors - from pale pink to bright blue - and it is in this really fine yet complicated pattern that you only notice when up close. The center of the necklace is also made out of the same threads only silky grey, this time interloped into a design that looks similar to an owl. Which, by the way, is my favorite animal. For the belly of the owl, the grey threads is replaced by a snow white sheen. Every time the light shines on it, it leans towards a slightly different color. The whole necklace is completed by a couple of shiny onyx stones for the eyes, giving the whole thing a look of expensiveness and unique. Did I mention that onyx is my favorite? It's plain, but elegant.

"Wow, Percy!" I exclaim, blown away by its beauty. "You _bought_ this for me?"

"Yeah." He shoves his hands in his pockets. His cheeks seem a little pink. "I saw it in the window of a shop, and thought of the wise old owl." He sighs dramatically, and puts his hand over his heart.

"Thank you!" I say as I gently put on the necklace. But for some reason, the back of the necklace is caught on my shirt, and it gets stuck.

"Here, let me help." Percy says, reaching for my back. I start at that gesture, but relax. Besides, what can he do? I know karate. His fingers brushes my neck, and I shiver. I'm hoping that he doesn't notice though.

I haven't been touched by a boy since... well. Luke. He touched me all the time before the boys on the football team influenced him, and I wouldn't let him near me. Jason and Frank don't count. A little punch or shove every now and then doesn't mean I'm _touched_ by a boy, like, _that_ way.

"Uh... bye." I say. "Thanks for the necklace."

Percy smiles almost sadly, and waves and walks away, leaving me lost and alone.

At home, I receive a text from Piper.

 _ **Hey. We need to talk.**_

Just that. Nothing else. I text back **_About what?_**

Piper replies immediately. **_Meet us at my house in 10_**

I sigh as I put my phone away in my backpack. So much for club. This better be good, I think as I head over to her house, (which is two miles long walk) legs aching.

"Finally you're here!" Piper squeals. I roll my eyes. I thought we were going to do something _serious_.

"Okay, my legs are hurting. What are we here for?" I say, annoyed.

"So, Hazel is upstairs, and she is getting ready for your date with Percy!" she exclaims, pulling me towards the big staircase. Piper's dad is an actor, so he makes a lot of money and is hardly ever at home.

"Wait, what date with Percy?" I ask, suddenly suspicious.

"Jason and Frank invited Percy over to a restaurant for dinner, but instead of _they_ being there, _you_ will be there!" Piper explains, clearly excited. "And I thought of the whole thing myself!"

"Who says I even _like_ him?" I demand, mad. "And you shouldn't have planned this without telling me!"

" _We_ know a crush when we see one, Annie." Hazel appears at the top of the stairway.

"Be honest. Without us, you two would get nowhere!" Piper pats my back. I duck away.

"Shut up!"

"C'mon, Annie, let's go upstairs."

"Don't call me that!" But I still oblige. After all, I _am_ kind of curious to see what she had for me

Hazel apparently, had gotten everything ready - piles of different shaded blushes and eyeshadows, hair products, makeup brushes - just for me. Well, that's what I thought. "This is wayyy too much stuff!"

"Some of it's for us too. While _you're_ at your date, _we_ will be going to the movies with Jason and Frank. Maybe when you and Percy get together, we'll invite you too." Piper tells me. For the hundredth time, I roll my eyes.

"S'cuse me, you and your wild imagination. But I am fine being single." I snap.

"Yeah, but it's nice being in a relationship too!"

I facepalm.

"Besides, some of these is from Nikki! You know, the new glittery one I was telling you about?" Piper says, in attempt to cheer me up.

I say nothing. They see this as a sign of giving in.

The next hour is torture. Hazel brushes my hair so thoroughly that I am sure my hair will be frizzy the next few years. But then she sprays this thing in it, and the whole thing becomes silky and shiny and golden. Piper uses a cleanser to cleanse my face, and then she spreads a layer of slimy stuff across my face. I'm not allowed to look in the mirror until they are done, but I am sure I look fabulously horrible.

"This is only for protecting your face from the makeup and concealer." She tells me, but I am still suspicious that they are trying to dye my skin into a puke green color to 'match Percy's eyes'.

She messes around my face, erasing my features and drawing them back out again - which is pointless to me but it does get rid of the stupid pimples I have - and then highlighting them to a dramatic fullness. Then Hazel applies a layer of fluffy pink blush to my cheeks, and grey eyeshadow. She says it's shimmery and pretty, but I just see a dark grey stick of charcoal in her hand.

Lastly, Piper applies a light layer of strawberry pink lip gloss - despite my protests - and finishes it off with a touch of mascara.

"Finally! Now can I go?" I say, exasperated and tired.

"Nope!" Hazel and Piper exclaims together. "We have to do hair and outfits!"

I mutter a curse word in Greek, and then settle back into the comfy chair provided for me in Piper's room.

"No no no!" Hazel says. "We need you to sit on that stool over there so we can do your hair." I groan.

The girls tug, pull, straighten, curl, and twist my poor golden locks around until they are satisfied. My scalp is tingling from all the toxic stuff they rubbed in. I am sure that it will take years to recover from.

"Are you _done_?" I snap. I am very mad now, and it's already been one hour.

"Two more minutes, and then you're free to look!" Hazel tells me. I clench my fists in anger.

The two minutes feel like 2 years.

"There! We're done!" Piper says, spinning the stool around its wheels. I gasp when I see my reflection. I won't even bother describing it to you, because everyone already knows Piper and Hazel's work is wonderful. Lets just say that they twisted my hair into an elegant half-up half-down and braided the sides into the twist.

"Well, maybe those 2 hours _was_ worth it." I grumble, trying to hide my excitement and happiness. But as usual, they already saw through it.

"OMG, Annabeth, you look _awesome_!" Piper squeals. I swear, that girl _never_ stops squealing.

"Yeah! Percy's gonna be _so_ shocked, and then he's gonna be blown away by your beauty!" Hazel agrees.

I'm sorry. I just had to snort.

Piper and Hazel fusses over my outfit for a couple of minutes, and then finally settles on a silky grey minidress that has ruffled layers. There are also little bits of glitter hidden here and there, so every time I move, the dress appears to glow. The shininess of the grey also heightens this effect.

"It's perfect!" Piper and Hazel cries.

"Thanks guys. Where did you get this anyway?" I ask.

"My grandmother gave me it when I was little." Piper says, sighing. Her grandmother had died a few years ago. I only met her once, but she seemed so nice! I felt sad for Piper too.

"If Percy doesn't fall for you, he is probably alien." Hazel says.

Personally, I don't think looks help people fall in love. But Hazel and Piper had worked so hard on me that I had to be kind to them.

I thank them both as I head out the door. I am about to head home so I can get a ride, but then I realize that it's a _two mile walk_ from here to my house. So I ask Piper if she'll drive me home, and I'd let her copy my homework. She agreed. "Anything for you, my best friend in the world!"

I choose a pair of simple grey flats and I ask my dad to drive me to the restaurant.

"Why are you dressed so fancy to that restaurant?" He asks.

"I am going on a date." I tell him. I don't know why he even cares though. Like Helen, he never pays attention to me, only to his work. Most of the time he just ignores me, unless it's something important.

"Who's the lucky guy?" My dad's voice has become dangerously soft.

"His name is Percy Jackson." I say coldly. "Not that you'd pay any attention."

Dad's face has become tired. "C'mon, Annabeth. I'll drive you there." The whole car ride is silent. When he drops me off, he smiles, and says, "Have fun at the date, Annabeth." I press my face into a small sad smile, knowing that everything is changed between us.

Little did I know that Percy Jackson awaits for me, already in love.

And little did I know how the boy with the bright blue gum is the person I'll be with forever.


End file.
